UIS Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning to host national workshop

September 14, 2006

Will examine ways to keep students learning online
in emergency situations

SPRINGFIELD – The Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning at the
University of Illinois at Springfield will host a national workshop on
"Online Learning in an Emergency: Delivering the
Curriculum When the Campus is Closed," September
20 to 22 in New Orleans.

The conference is funded by a $45,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation. OTEL Director Ray Schroeder will serve as workshop chair.

Schroeder explained, "Forty experts from around
the country are gathering to join in this working session which has two main
goals. The first is to develop a series of online workshops to be delivered
by the Sloan Consortium that can help colleges and universities across the
country prepare for the delivery of their curriculum online when emergencies
– such as hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist acts, or epidemics – close the
physical campus.

"The second goal is to develop a Sloan
Consortium response center to assure that national resources are brought to
bear to help colleges and universities in their efforts."
Schroeder said both goals are to be accomplished within 60 days after the
workshop concludes.

A link to three live panel sessions will be available online at
www.elluminate.com on Wednesday
morning, September 20. "We invite anyone
with relevant expertise and interests to join us online,"
said Schroeder.

Schroeder had originally submitted a proposal for this conference to the
Sloan Foundation early in the summer of 2005, but before it could be
implemented Hurricane Katrina struck. In light of the situation that was
then unfolding, Schroeder and Burks Oakley, U of I Associate Vice President
of Academic Affairs, conceived and spearheaded the major national initiative
in which the Sloan Foundation contributed more than $1 million to provide
free online college courses for displaced students.

Oakley will take part in this conference as a panel discussant, as will
UIS Chief Information Officer Farokh Eslahi.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation makes grants in
science, technology, and the quality of American life. Its Anytime, Anyplace
Learning program has paved the way for more than 2.5 million learners
nationwide to take online courses.

For more information, contact the UIS Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning
at 217/206-7317. Progress reports from the working groups and further
details of the workshop will also be available online at
http://onlinelearningupdate.com/workshop.htm.

The University of Illinois at Springfield,
one of three U of I campuses, is a small, public liberal arts university
that
offers
42 degree programs – 21
bachelor’s, 20 master’s, and the Doctorate of Public Administration.
UIS has a special mission in public affairs and service and is known for
extraordinary internships, a wireless campus, extensive online offerings,
and a commitment to teaching.